The Unspoken Reason Why Angelo Wasn't The Best Man In My Big Fat Greek Wedding

In the 2002 romantic comedy film 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', the best man is not featured. The film, written by and starring Nia Vardalos, is based on her own experiences and follows a young Greek-American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek man and struggles to get her family to accept him. While the film does centre around a wedding, the best man is not a prominent character and does not feature in any of the film's iconic scenes or quotes. This is likely because the film focuses on the cultural clash between the Greek and non-Greek families, rather than the specifics of the wedding party.

The film is based on Vardalos' own family experiences

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is based on Nia Vardalos's own family experiences. The film follows a young Greek-American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek man and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity. Vardalos, who wrote the film, stars as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, a 30-year-old unmarried waitress at her father's Greek restaurant, Dancing Zorbas.

Vardalos has said that the film is based on her own experiences marrying a non-Greek man, actor Ian Gomez. The film is also based on her family in Winnipeg, Canada. Vardalos included actual quotes from her family members in the film, such as a line about Greek women being "lambs in the kitchen but tigers in the bedroom".

Vardalos initially wrote the story as a one-woman 45-minute monologue workshop, which she performed in Los Angeles in 1997. The show sold out and was seen by actress Rita Wilson, who is of Greek origin. Wilson convinced her husband, actor Tom Hanks, to see the show, and the couple's production company, Playtone, later produced the film version.

Vardalos' mother thought she was injured during the headset scene

Nia Vardalos, the leading actress and writer of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', shared some behind-the-scenes moments in an interview with ABC News' "20/20". One of these moments was about her mother's reaction to the famous headset scene.

Vardalos recalled that while filming the scene, her mother was watching from behind the scenes. In the scene, Vardalos falls backward, and her mother, unaware of the mattress behind her, freaked out, thinking she was going to hurt herself and shouted, "She's gonna hurt herself. Shut it down."

Vardalos' on-screen husband got the part by walking into a hotel bar

Nia Vardalos, the leading actress and writer of the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", revealed that her on-screen husband, played by John Corbett, got the part by walking into a hotel bar. Vardalos said that she wanted Corbett to play Toula's love interest, Ian Miller, but he was initially unavailable. As they were about to start filming, Vardalos and producer Gary Goetzman were discussing their dilemma in the hotel bar when Corbett walked in. They had just been talking about not having an actor for Ian Miller's role, and Corbett told the bartender that he had just read the script and wanted to be in the movie. Goetzman approached Corbett, and it turned out that he was available after all. Filming started four days later.

Corbett kissed Vardalos on demand to ease her nerves

Nia Vardalos, the star and writer of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and its sequel, revealed that she asked her on-screen husband, John Corbett, to kiss her ahead of their first kissing scene to help calm her nerves. Vardalos, who had never done a kissing scene before, told Corbett that she was nervous about everyone watching and wanted to "get it over with". Corbett obliged and kissed her, which Vardalos described as "easy" and helped her feel less embarrassed when it came to filming the scene for real.

Vardalos and Corbett were unaware that they had been caught in the act at the time. It was only years later that they found out the hair artist on the movie had walked out of the makeup trailer and witnessed the kiss, assuming that the pair were having an affair.

Vardalos' family members' actual quotes were used in the film

Nia Vardalos, the writer and star of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', included actual quotes from her family members in the film. The movie is based on her own experiences, and she has said that she wrote down everything that had ever happened to her when she was writing the screenplay.

One such example is the line: "Greek women. We might be lambs in the kitchen, but we're tigers in the bedroom." This was something that her mother said to her while they were making chicken soup. Vardalos also included a real-life situation where she was making fun of her mother for "being a docile Greek woman", and her mother's response left her speechless.

Vardalos also requested that Andrea Martin play her quirky aunt, as her Aunt Voula "really does have a lump on the back of her neck that is her twin".

Frequently asked questions